Conventional wisdom tells us “the internet” has simplified the job search process.

I beg to differ though. If anything, it has made the process more complicated.

Sure, we can join any number of recruitment websites, find leads, send resumes, and dispatch query emails, all pretty much instantly.

But the internet has also made the process far more invasive.

Recruiters can now log on to our favourite social networking sites, MySpace and Facebook for instance, and dig up the dirt on us. Those party snaps from years ago can back to haunt us.

“It looks like you were inhaling to me…”

To date there has been little the job hunter can do to even up this information imbalance. We can do our homework, study the website of the company we have a job interview at tomorrow, and see if, per chance, a bio of our prospective line manager has been posted.

However the “marketing copy” of such a “bio” will do little to tell what this person will actually be like to work with. What if this character is the boss from hell? Do you think that will be posted, for all to see, on the company website?

Enter eBossWatch, a recently launched website, where for a modest fee (US$3.99), you can purchase a “ratings report” on your next boss.

You can also take part in a six question survey on your past managers and add to the eBossWatch database.

A job interview will only tell you so much. And remember a job interview is a two way street. You are there to check out your possible future employer, as much as they are giving you the once (or maybe thrice) over.

But people are on their best behaviour in such situations. Accordingly I “stumble” over questions, to test an employer’s tolerance and patience. I take note of body language. Eye movement. Facial expression. I don’t interview line managers, I’m out to psychoanalysis them!

But even I can get it wrong. After all everyone expects to be tested at a job interview.

An eBossWatch rating report can fill me in though. As creator Asher Adelman says, where there’s smoke, there could well be fire.

“If there are several disgruntled employees that have submitted negative ratings at a potential employer, then I would want to know the reasons why they are disgruntled before I accept this job.”

I know what you are thinking now. People can game, or rig, this. A spiteful employee, not impressed at being told they “are not paid to surf the net all day”, can go about putting their boss on the “blacklist”.

No one is saying the system is foolproof (how about a boss submitting a positive review of… themselves?), and as Asher points out, eBossWatch is but one tool in the job search process.

“The idea behind eBossWatch is for job applicants to use the ratings as an additional resource to help spot any warning signs about a potential employer. For example, if I receive a Boss Report for a prospective manager, and there are some negative ratings, then I’ll want to enquire further about the negative ratings and maybe also speak with some current or former employees to make sure that this person is a good manager.”

There are a few things to take note of though. eBossWatch is relatively new. Its database is growing, so it will take a while before a decent selection of managers become listed. Also, eBossWatch currently only rates managers working in companies in the United States.

Searches are free, and given the small cost of the report, along with the possible heads up that your next boss may indeed be the boss from hell, an eBossWatch report is certainly worth considering.

And no, this is NOT a sponsored post!